Coolest Thing Ever!

So, this might not be a big deal to you, but figuring out what to do with our bikes as the weather turns is a big deal to me.  We have four bikes to accomodate and I have some constraints to how I want to store them:  I want them out of the way, but accessible (because we don't always have snow on the ground).  We don't have rafters, so we can't use a pulley system to get them up out of the way.  We do have a shed in the corner of the backyard, but getting them in and out of there is a pain in the rear.  So, imagine my surprise when I solved my dilemma for $34 spent at Harbor Freight!  (I had a coupon...they're normally $47.99.)

Let me introduce you to our Bike Tree.  It is holding all four of our bikes (bikes for tall people take up a lot of room!) and is easy to maneuver.  It can be rolled out of the workshop area of our garage whenever I want to use it as a workshop and quickly rolled back in when I'm done.

It took me half an hour to assemble it and then it was ready to go.  Had one of the kids hold the tree steady while I got the first bike on the tree and after that, it was easy to get the rest of them up there.  Notice that the seats are on alternating sides of each other...that makes the bike tree stay balanced.  The best part?  The footprint of the bike tree is 30" square.  Yes, our bikes stick out more than that, but not enough to make it be a problem and smaller bikes wouldn't extend past the base of the tree.

 Come on!  Admit it.  This is pretty darned cool!